The multi-year agreement will offer Pizza Hut a vast array of exclusive marketing rights, benefits and designations that will unmistakably connect the brand with the NFL and its teams, players, events, partners, properties and more. Image: Pizza Hut, Twitter

NEW YORK and PLANO, Texas -- The National Football League and Pizza Hut are getting an early start on celebrating the upcoming 2018 NFL season with news that Pizza Hut is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL.

The multi-year agreement will offer Pizza Hut a vast array of exclusive marketing rights, benefits and designations that will unmistakably connect the brand with the NFL and its teams, players, events, partners, properties and the many NFL experiences that capture the passion of consumers and football fans from all over the world.

"We know many of our fans enjoy pizza while watching NFL games and we are thrilled to have Pizza Hut, an industry leader and one of America's favorite brands, as an official league sponsor," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "With a focus on family, friends and fun, Pizza Hut has the creativity we are looking for in a partner and we look forward to working together with them to make the at-home NFL experience more exciting than ever for our fans."

Pizza Hut has a long-standing tradition of connecting with football fans via promotions, experiences and excitement that's good for the whole family, and this partnership will bring more scale and grandeur to the relationship between the company and fans. The NFL partnership will first unfold for Pizza Hut, appropriately, during the 2018 NFL Draft to be held near its global headquarters in North Dallas.

"Pizza Hut has a history of bringing more entertaining food and experiences to the pizza occasion and we plan to continue that through our exclusive partnership with the NFL," said Artie Starrs, President, Pizza Hut U.S. "NFL stadiums are packed every week but tens of millions of fans are also watching the game at home. We have an unmatched ability to bring those fans closer to the sport thanks to the power of our 7,500 restaurants and 150,000 football-crazed team members. The capacity for what's possible is endless and that's going to make this league partnership great fun for Pizza Hut, the NFL and everyone who loves pizza and football."

The Pizza Hut partnership with the NFL includes collective use of all 32 team marks. It also involves the NFL working closely with Pizza Hut to facilitate local, exclusive team partnerships. Pizza Hut will have the opportunity to leverage game tickets and unique fan experiences to all NFL games in marketing and promotional campaigns throughout each year.

"The opportunity to align in an official capacity with the NFL is a tremendous opening for a brand and product that is so neatly aligned with the football-watching occasion like pizza and Pizza Hut," said Andy Rosen, Pizza Hut franchise owner and Franchise Board of Directors Chairman. "Our system is aligned behind and thrilled about this partnership. No one better understands the essence of Pizza Hut, including our consumers, than our group of owners and team members."

Pizza Hut InnovationFrom game day to family game night, Pizza Hut is committed to making it easier for consumers to get a better pizza via digital and delivery innovations. Over the last year, Pizza Hut has introduced a number of digital enhancements, including a Delivery Tracker that allows users to track their pizza from order to delivery, and exclusively receive updates via text message. In addition, Pizza Hut fans can take advantage of one-button reorder functionality, visible promise time, and voice ordering through a variety of devices.

More recently, Pizza Hut launched Hut Rewards, the only national pizza loyalty program that offers points for every dollar spent on food online. For delivery, the company developed a new algorithm that drastically improves the accuracy and reliability of deliveries, reimagined its delivery pouches to keep pizzas up to 15 degrees hotter and is currently the first pizza company piloting beer and wine delivery in the U.S. In January, Pizza Hut announced a plan to explore pizza delivery via self-driving vehicles.

Pizza Hut has more than 7,500 restaurants in the U.S., and 16,700 worldwide in over 100 countries.